cheated death once, going for twice
by brainsucker
Summary: explores the nature of relationships, nothing is simple. there is always more than one link between two people. Sasuke is a friend to Anyu, but they don't speak. Anyu is in love with Sasuke, but he tried to kill her last time they met. They share a common
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I only own the four square inches between my ears. Oh yea, the OC lives in that place so I own her, too.

This village, Konoha, it's so peaceful here... I was strolling the shop street, looking at random shops with all kinds of interesting items. It's been almost two years since I've first moved to Konoha from the Country of Water. Well, I probably shouldn't say 'moved', it was more like 'escaped'.

The Country of Water was ravaged by a crazed persecution of people with bloodlines that enable them to control water. Many people with the bloodline were stripped of their jobs, some died from mob violence. False accusations were made; some of the victims didn't even possess the bloodline or couldn't use it well. I belonged to a family of carpenters; makes me laugh to think about it now. Heh, carpenters, right. My parents both had the bloodline, I didn't learn of this until the day my mom told me that we were leaving the country, a couple days after my seventh birthday. Honestly, I should've known. I mean, the angry mobs around our house, no one commissioning my parents for jobs, it was kind of obvious. But, I guess I chose to turn the other cheek.

That move cost me my family.

She never made it out of the country, my mom.

What's done is done, no use pining over it now. I'm with the Uchiha clan now, the Hokage arranged for them to adopt me two years ago when I first came. My adopted family knows who I am, the Hokage knows, that's about it. The village thinks I'm just some kid who ran away from home.

Before I realized, the sun was already gone, and then I realized something else; I was supposed to meet Sasuke an hour ago so that we could train! I sprinted back to my home across town as fast as I could, which wasn't very fast because I kept running into people.

As I approached home, I noticed a queer scent in the air…

blood.

And blood it was, I froze as I set eyes on the scene in front of me. Members of the Uchiha clan were lying everywhere, drowning in crimson pools.

"Auntie…?" I said, recognizing the figure as the kind woman whom I saw as I left for school every morning.

I began calmly wandering in the bloodbath; occasionally walking up to someone I knew to check if they were alive. Never did I lose my never, keeping my composure as I strolled around. The blood was normal, compared to my old village. But it is different when I have just talked to these people within the last day, and now they're lying lifeless on the ground.

Someone's watching me… 

But I dismissed the thought on the account of the situation. The sun had completely set now; enter the twilight. This time of day has always drained on my vision, which wasn't too good to begin with, so now I'm shuffling around half blind. I dug around in my bag for my glasses and put them on. Some distance off I saw a figure sitting upright on the ground.

Someone's alive! 

My heart was pounding as I sprinted towards the silhouette; I felt so relieved when I saw that it was "Sasuke!"

He didn't move, didn't even twitch from my yell, that's when I really felt that something was wrong. And then I saw his face; white from terror, covered with dirt, and a few paths showed where tears had made their way down his cheeks. "Sasuke! What happened? Who did this? Sasuke! Look at me!" I was desperate and panicking.

_Death never scared me as much as his face did._

I haven't written in a long time. Honestly, I'm just writing this to write…and sort of b/c I'm annoyed that there isn't enough serious naruto fanfics. No offense to anyone, I just don't really like to read comedy. Anyway, being an amateur writer in revival, advice is really appreciated.


	2. second time around

disclaimer: don't own, don't sue. anyu is mine, tho.

_From the last chapter:_

_My heart was pounding as I sprinted towards the silhouette; I felt so relieved when I saw that it was "Sasuke!"_

_He didn't move, didn't even twitch from my yell, that's when I really felt that something was wrong. And then I saw his face; white from terror, covered with dirt, and a few paths showed where tears had made their way down his cheeks. "Sasuke! What happened? Who did this? Sasuke! Look at me!" I was desperate and panicking. _

_Death never scared me as much as his face did._

I couldn't scream anymore, the look on his face is suffocating me, choking my voice. We sat there, consumed in the tense silence that neither of us was willing to shatter for fear of the world imploding on us. The rain came down in sheets, it felt like the sky had already begun collapsing, and somehow, this felt very familiar.

It rained like this the night I escaped from the Country of Water. It rained like this when my family died.

"…….._itachi…" _his voice came like it came from the dead, airy and barely audible.

"You want me to find him?" I just realized I hadn't seen Itachi's body among the remains. "He'll know what to do about this. I'll go find him!" I got up to run, but was retrained by a firm hand on my wrist. Sasuke's hand. "Sasuke, let go, I gotta…"

"It was him. He did this."

"What? You're crazy! Itachi wouldn't do this!" shaking my arm, trying to be free of his grasp, I yelled at Sasuke for accusing Itachi of such an unspeakable act. Itach was one of the only persons to really know me, I told him everything. He always listened when he could spare the time and offered advice when he could spare knowledge. I didn't even begin to imagine that he would do something like this. "Let go! Sasuke, you crazy idiot! Let go of me!"

"I told you he did it! I saw him! I saw him standing over my parents' dead bodies with their blood on his hands! Itachi killed everyone!"

"Shut up! I don't want to hear it!"

"You don't know anything! You weren't here! I saw him!"

My temper was flaring; I raised my free hand and struck him across the cheek. Instinctively he release his hold on my wrist and I used the chance to run away from him. I didn't get far before I was picked up by some Anbu officers.

The rest of that night is insignificant; police investigations, news reporters, rumor spreaders, just the normal things that follow abnormal events. The proved to the world that night that Itachi, the most talented ninja of the Uchiha clan, was responsible for the demise of the entire clan except his little brother.

However, I've always been pretty detached from the world.

They shipped me and Sasuke to the hospital, me for pneumonia and Sasuke for knife injuries as well as the flu. On the third day of my stay at the hospital, the Hokage came to see me. Our conversation was short. Actually, it didn't happen. I pretended to be sleeping the whole time he was in my room. He knew I was awake, of course, but didn't say anything and left after some time, for that, I'm very thankful.

The nurses came in and out, but I never tried to carry a conversation with them and they didn't prompt me to talk either. I had a week of silence in that bed, surrounded by light from the window at my bed side for it was sunny the whole week. The first few mornings I had asked for the curtains to be shut saying it hurt my eyes but the nurses kept reopening the curtains so frequently that I just gave up. The light was horrid. The sun was horrid. Everything about the day outside was perfect, so perfect I couldn't stand to look at it. My life was falling apart for the second time and the fact that the world held up so strongly made me sick.

I was released from the hospital after a week, the first person I saw was the Hokage in the discharge lobby. "Anyu, come with me." I followed him, because I hadn't spoke in so long it took a while for me to utter my first words.

"Where's Itachi?"

"He's been classified as a missing nin. Responsible for over a hundred counts of murder," his voice was calm, calm and final.

It took me many moments to process the answer received, and when I finally heard it I could only manage "oh," in response.

We strolled slowly to an apartment complex. "Where's Sasuke?" I asked.

"Still in the hospital. He'll be out within a few days," he said as he opened the door to one of the rooms. "This'll be your home for a while. The Uchiha residence is under investigation, and even when the investigations are over you probably wouldn't be able…"

"Thanks, Hokage-sama. I can't even think about going back to that place anyhow."

"Anyu, I'll leave you for now. Sasuke's in room 205 in the hospital if you want to see him."

"Ok."

Who knows how long I stood in the open door way. For me, time had ceased to exist. Because, truly, time doesn't exist in the afterlife, and this being my second time around this block...well...death would be blind to miss me again...

a.n.yea, it's really confusing. i'll try to shape it up for the next chapter...sorry guys >. ;;

thanks to **syfuuhan** for reviewing, i really appreciate it a lot. in case u didn't get my email, i haven't decided whether or not anyu is related to haku...i'm sorta letting the story run amuck, lol.


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